Veedon Fleece [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Van Morrison | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 3, 1997)
• Original Release Date: 1974
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Polydor / Umgd
• ASIN: B000002GNO
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (87 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #172,115 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Fair Play

2. Linden Arden Stole The Highlights

3. Who Was That Masked Man

4. Streets Of Arklow

5. You Don't Pull No Punches, But You Don't Push The River

6. Bulbs

7. Cul De Sac

8. Comfort You

9. Come Here My Love

10. Country Fair

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

On this subtle classic, a comparatively somber, subdued Van Morrison emerged from the rubble of the failed marriage that a few years earlier infused his American studio sessions with a conjugal glow and journeyed home to Ireland to revive his Celtic identity. From the pale, hand-colored images on its cover to the quieter, more skeletal arrangements of the music, 1974's Veedon Fleece originally seemed dispiriting to Morrison fans hoping for the R&B ebullience of its predecessors. Yet songs like "Linden Arden Stole the Highlights," "Streets of Arklow," and "Country Fair" anticipate the pastoral Irish lyricism that would bloom again a half decade later on Into the Music, emerging as a cornerstone of Morrison's work from the '80s forward. --Sam Sutherland

Product Description

2008 newly remastered sound and expanded packaging including lyrics of the 1974 album Veedon Fleece the eighth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. The cover photograph picturing Morrison with two Irish Wolfhounds was taken at the Sutton House Hotel, a converted mansion overlooking Dublin Bay, where Morrison first stayed upon arriving in Ireland for a vacation. The opening track, "Fair Play" derived its name from Morrison's Irish friend, Donall Corvin's habit of using the Irish colloquialism "fair play to you" as a wry compliment.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

82 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Only one mellow way to go..., March 25, 2002

By 

Johnny Bacardi (Horse Cave, KY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Veedon Fleece (Audio CD)

On which Morrison is less Van the Man, the Celtic Soul Brother and more the ruminative Irish poet child of nature...it's difficult to describe this wonderful record in a few sentences. It's very much in the English Nick Drake/Pentangle tradition, which is not to say that it's traditional folk music. It's got strains of R & B, jazz, and even country running through it, and was a logical, if unexpected progression of Van's music at the time. It's closest in feel, in the Morrison catalog, to Astral Weeks; it shares the mostly acoustic, jazzy feel of his Warners debut but is a more mature and introspective work. Morrison had, after the relative aesthetic failure of his otherwise fine Hard Nose The Highway album, begun to get a bit restless artistically...if I recall correctly, he took a trip to Ireland to get back to his roots (so to speak) after spending many years here in the States, and when he returned this is where his muse led him. He recieves stellar backing from his road band on this album, especially the underrated pianist Jef Labes.

There isn't a bad track here. I love them all, but I especially love the moody "Streets of Arklow", with magnificent recorder accompaniment by Jim Rothermel; the breezy opener "Fair Play" in which he begins his penchant for name dropping his favorite writers, clever at first but eventually run into the ground later in his career... "You Don't Pull No Punches...", in which he sings about a quest for spiritual enlightenment, known here as the Veedon Fleece; the jazzy "Cul De Sac" with a fearless, amazing vocal, "Who Was That Masked Man", in which Van does his best Smokey Robinson impersonation, and the closer, the gorgeous "Country Fair" which evokes a late summer evening vividly. It's a haunting tune you won't soon forget.

I could go on and on and probably still not adequately describe my affection for this album. Ever since I picked this up off the rack at age 15 (because I liked the beautiful cover-I had never listened to Morrison before!), I have considered this my favorite album. Sadly, I was one of the few...its commercial failure led Morrison to attack Warners for not promoting it and caused him to spend three years struggling with writers block to finally issue its follow-up, the more conventional A Period of Transition-a lackluster LP light years away from its predecessor. Veedon Fleece is a once-in-a-lifetime work that sounded like nothing out there back then and still sounds unique today, even when compared to Van's own catalogue.

I hope, that if I convince you to take a chance on this album, that you come to love it as much as I. If it was possible I'd give it ten stars.

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Van Morrison stole the highlights, January 4, 2000

By 

Erik Olsson (Sweden) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Veedon Fleece (Audio CD)

Veedon Fleece is THE album in my collection that I keep coming back to over and again. I listen to it almost on a daily basis, and have been doing so ever since I bought it just about a year ago. This is the closest anyone has ever come to making a flawless album. The vocals are truly astounding, it's almost like if Van reaches a state of higher consciousness while singing. No one can sound like this but Van.

From the opening laidback masterpiece Fair Play to the beautifully soothing closer that is Country Fair, Veendon Fleece takes you for a ride that interacts with just about every emotion you have in your body. Linden Arden stole the highlights presents a totally jawdropping melodic transition between verse and chorus, Bulbs is just irresistibly joyous and catchy (albeit embedded in sarcasm), and Cul de Sac evokes the image of a protagonist singing with his heart hanging from a big black hole in his cheast.

Veedon Fleece is easily the best (and most underrated) album I have stumbled upon so far in my life, and I sincerely recommend it to everyone. Buy it, and it will soon become the one thing you take with you to a deserted island. Trust me. :o)

55 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Remastered "Soul Satisfaction" From Van On This Overlooked 1974 Gem, July 1, 2008

By 

Mark Barry, Reckless Records, London (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Veedon Fleece (Reis) (Audio CD)

"Veedon Fleece" is part of the 2nd wave of Van Morrison remastered reissues to hit the shops in 2008 (see full list below). Released Monday 30 June 2008 in the UK and 1 July 2008 in the USA, it boasts an upgraded booklet, a 96k/24 bit remaster and 2 bonus tracks for the first time.

Here's the layout (56:36 minutes):
Tracks 1 to 10 make the album originally released in October 1974 on Warner Brothers
Tracks 11 and 12 are Alternate Takes of "Twilight Zone" and "Cul De Sac" and both are previously unreleased exclusive bonus tracks

The band consisted of:
RALPH WALSH and JOHN TROPEA on Guitars
JEFF LABES and JAMES TRUMBO on Keyboards
JACK SCHROER on Soprano Sax
JIM RITHERMEL on Flute and Recorder
NATHAN RUBIN and TERRY ADAMS on Strings
DAVID HAYES and JOE MACHO on Bass
DAHOUD SHAAR and ALLEN SWARTZBURG on Drums and Percussion

Labes, Shaar, Schroer, Hayes and Nathan Rubin were all part of "The Caledonia Soul Orchestra" who toured with Van and produced the dynamite "It's Too Late To Stop Now" live double released in March of 1974. Tight and complimentary to his style, they knew what Van wanted when he went in to record "Veedon Fleece". The album is a slight return to the style of "Astral Weeks" song-writing - not verse/chorus - but more soulful meandering workouts heavy on the mystical lyrics and falsetto vocals. This style is particularly evident on the fabulous "You Don't Pull No Punches, But You Don't Push The River" which ended Side 1 of the album - an 8-minute strummer that gets its hooks into you and doesn't leave. The chipper "Bulbs" was issued as 7" single on both sides of the pond ("Cul De Sac" its B-side in the US, "Who Was That Masked Man?" in the UK).

Originally released on vinyl as a single sleeve album with a green insert for the session details, that same bland green is used on the booklet and inlay beneath the see-through tray - hardly original, nor exciting. There's no new interview, no photos, no singles pictured, no history of the record and its place in his catalogue - zip. The lyrics to "Twilight Zone" are reproduced though. Wow! Push the boat out boys!!

Also, the liner notes don't mention WHERE or WHEN the tapes were 96k/24 bit remastered and as the playing times are exactly the same as the 1996 remaster version, then that is what this is. Still, the sound is hugely improved over the initial CD releases, but a real downside for me is the sloppiness with which this has been remastered - there's very audible hiss on almost all of the tracks - and the hiss is at exactly the same level all the time - you can't help but feel that this was simply run through a machine without anyone trying to tweak or make better each individual track - like say you get on a HIP-O SELECT CD or a MOBILE FIDELITY disc. Effort put in - in other words.

The two bonus tracks are a mixed bag. As you've probably noticed, "Twilight Zone" wasn't on the original LP; it first appeared as an outtake from the "Veedon Fleece" sessions on the 2CD 1996 set "The Philosopher's Stone". The version on PS runs to 8:24 minutes and is presented on that set in superb sound quality; this take is shorter at 5:51 minutes and different - unfortunately it's also a lot more hissy and not as good as the PS version. "Cul De Sac" fares far better - it's very good - and more than an interesting curio. I'll be playing it again.

Overall, "Veedon Fleece" is a lovely album and a bit of a lost gem in his catalogue - and this remastered re-issue is recommended despite the slightly disappointing sound quality.

PS:
30 Van Morrison albums are re-issued in remastered form throughout 2008 and into early 2009. Each title contains an upgraded booklet; previously unreleased bonus tracks and all will be at mid-price. The releases are in 4 batches as follows:

28 January 2008 (7 titles)
Tupelo Honey (1971), It's Too Late To Stop Now (2 CD Live Set) (1974),
Wavelenght (1979), Into The Music (1979), A Sense Of Wonder (1985),
Avalon Sunset (1989) and Back On Top (1999)
(see SEPARATE REVIEWS for all 7)

30 June 2008 UK/1 & 8 July 2008 USA (8 titles)
Veedon Fleece (1974), Common One (1980), Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart (1983), Live At The Grand Opera House, Belfast (1984), No Guru, No Method, No Teacher (1986), Enlightenment (1990), A Night In San Francisco (2CD Live Set) (1994) and The Healing Game (1997)
(see also SEPARATE REVIEWS for "Common One", "Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart", "Enlightenment", the live 2CD set "A Night In San Francisco" and "No Guru, No Method, No Teacher")

September 2008 - delayed until February 2009 (7 titles)
Saint Dominic's Preview (1972), A Period Of Transition (1977), Beautiful Vision (1982), Poetic Champions Compose (1987), Hymns To The Silence (2CD Studio Set) (1991), How Long Has This Been Going On (Live At Ronnie Scott's) (1995) and Tell Me Something - The Songs Of Mose Allison (1996)

January 2009 (8 titles)
Hard Nose The Highway (1973), Irish Heartbeat (with The Chieftains) (1988),
Too Long In Exile (1993), Days Like This (1995), The Story Of Them (2CD Set) (1999), The Skiffle Sessions - Live In Belfast (with Lonnie Donegan & Chris Barber) (2000), Down The Road (2002) and What's Wrong With This Picture? (2003)

PPS:
Those hoping to see desperately needed sonic upgrades of his 1st and 2nd album masterpieces on Warner Bothers "Astral Weeks" (1968) and "Moondance" (1970) or even "His Band & The Street Choir" (late 1970) will be disappointed to hear that they're NOT in this re-issue campaign - on either side of the pond. "Astral Weeks" and "Moondance" in particular have both been languishing around on crappy-sounding non-remastered CDs for over 20 years now and they're glaringly obvious omissions in this supposedly 'extensive' re-issue campaign. These universally recognized masterpieces have long deserved 2CD DELUXE EDITION treatment (some tracks in remastered form are available across the 3 volumes of "Best Of"). However, I've recently been informed by a good source that all 3 are NOW AVAILABLE since June 2008 in JAPAN in RHINO REMASTERED form. See the excellent Japanese site CDJAPAN.CO.JP for details (worded in English).